Fuse modules provide a means for fuses to be incorporated into an electrical circuit. Typically, a fuse module has two terminals for electrical leads and two terminals for a fuse connection. The mechanism that has typically been used to connect electrical leads to fuse connections has been the wiring lug, which contains electrical lead terminals and fuse clip terminals. A load side electrical lead is attached to a first lead terminal. A line side electrical lead is attached to a second lead terminal. The circuit through the fuse module then may be completed by the installation of the fuse in the fuse terminal, which electrically connects the line side and load side lead terminals through the fuse element.
Previous wiring lugs have used screw terminals where the electrical leads couple to the lead terminals via the use of screws. The electrical leads are brought into contact with the screws while in a first position. The screws are then placed in a second position, creating an electrical and mechanical connection between the electrical leads and the screw by arresting the leads between the screw and a surface. These connections may be formed by placing the lead under the head of the screw and the screw head coming in contact with a surface. Alternatively, these screw terminals may involve the electrical lead being wound around the screw terminals and the screw rotating to the surface. Alternatively, the screw could press the electrical lead to the terminal by directly applying physical pressure at the base of the screw. These previous methods led to problems with heat transfer and electrical resistance. Additionally, high torque is needed to secure the electrical leads to the screw terminals, which is a problem in itself and which may damage the leads. Additional features of previous embodiments included securing devices that have congruent teeth flanking either side of the electrical lead, leading to the possibility of damaging the leads during installation.
An additional problem with conventional lugs relates to the conductive materials used in wiring lugs. Clips used in such applications have been made of conductive materials that have inherent spring properties to them, such as C19025, C7025, or C7026, to provide the necessary physical properties to secure the fuses to the wiring lugs. In addition to the expense associated with such conductive materials, there is usually an amount of ‘scrap’ conductive material that is unused. This excess material has been undesirable as these devices used special copper alloys that are expensive. The use of these copper alloys also leads to the additional problem of requiring a hydraulic press because the conductive material is too strong to be manipulated with hand tools, thereby further increasing manufacturing costs.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for a wiring lug that can securely couple to both an electrical lead and a fuse terminal while making use of minimal conductive materials and labor.